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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

I'm so excited to finally have a few Love, Angeline swatches to show you guys! I've been fawning over swatches from others, and I caved and bought some of the Chateau Macaron colors. Up first is the sort of odd man out of the collection called Did You Say Peppercorn?! which is a matte light grey with blue shimmer. You can see a flash of the shimmer in the bottom picture, but it it's not very apparent. My guess is if you add topcoat, the shimmer would be slightly more visible. Unfortunately the formula is a bit of a pain. It was slightly milky and streaky on the first couple coats, but finally builds up on the 3rd. I think I actually had to use a 4th on a couple fingers. I think the application was more of an issue due to having a mini bottle and not a regular length brush. Oh, and speaking of the bottle, I think Love, Angeline has such a beautiful script and I love the fountain pen on the bottle!

This collection is still available in regular ($10) and mini ($5) sizes. Feel free to learn more about Love, Angeline on their website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Hi guys, I know, I'm a little bit behind about posting lately. I guess it's just that my motivation has been lacking in the nail department lately. Maybe it's just because there aren't many new polishes out right now (with it being the transition between spring and summer). I hope to get back into the swing of things soon.

Until then, I have a Julep polish from their latest Paradise Collection called Danielle. It's a bright blue duochrome shimmer that flashes pink. Unfortunately the pink does not show up on the nail and is mostly in the bottle. I still love the color, but not for the Julep retail prices. I often have trouble with the application of Julep polishes, but I had no issues with this one. The It Girl box usually has 3 colors in it every month, but April only had 2 colors and 1 basecoat. I am always swimming in topcoat and basecoat, so I wasn't extremely thrilled to add to my collection.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

I'm so happy to have new furniture! We have a new sofa and loveseat that just came today. It's so cool how a couple new pieces can completely change a room. Anyway, I only have 1 of the Essie Cashmere Matte polishes because I heard some conflicting reviews. Coat Couture is a matte dusty purple with lots of green shimmer. The shimmer isn't too noticeable, but enough so that it helps make this polish even more unique. I should have added topcoat, but completely forgot to....next time! The formula was superb, but ended up bubbling up on some of my nails. The drying time was extremely fast as well. I still think this is a nice polish, but it has some issues.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

This week seems to be flying by! It's been a busy one, but I hope yours has gone well. Tonight I have my final Killer Queen Varnish color called Midnight at the Oasis which is a black jelly with tons of gold glitter and shimmer. I don't own Band Geek by KBShimmer, but this sort of reminds me of that a little bit. Band Geek has some silver in it which Midnight at the Oasis does not have. I thought there was going to be more glitter in this, but it's not too sparse by any means. This had the best application and formula of the 3. It was completely smooth and opaque in 2 coats which is surprising for a jelly. Her spring collection just launched, so go over to the website for pictures and to purchase. You can find them on their Etsy store, Facebook, and Instagram.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Hello hello! I sort of got sidetracked and didn't post another Killer Queen Varnish color yesterday. I know, I just forgot! Also, sorry for the crappy last picture; my camera decided to have my cuticles and finger focused but not the polish. I don't even know why I bothered showing it. Anyway, These Boots is a chocolate jelly with tons of orange and bronze glitter. How pretty is this? It's like fall in a bottle! I usually wear what I want, when I want, but I think I would appreciate this much more when the weather starts getting a little cooler. I couldn't resist it during a 40% off sale. The formula was slightly thick, but pigmented enough for only 2 coats. You can find them on their Etsy store, Facebook, and Instagram.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Hi guys! Sorry for not posting last night, but I've been working a ton and didn't have a chance to get anything up. Next month isn't going to be much better with me having to go to Stanford for a big, fancy piece of equipment. I'll be gone for over a week, so hopefully I can get ahead and start making some posts.

I'm slowly starting to get through my Rainbow Honey stash and I have Tsukimi for your viewing pleasure. It's a fuchsia/violet hybrid with tons of blue and silver(?) glitter. I can see mainly hexagonal glitters, but there are a few triangles and squares in there as well. I like the color combination, but I did not like the formula or application. I found it to be extremely thick and gloopy. Thankfully it only needed 2 coats for full coverage because a third would have looked like crap.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Happy Saturday? This is a question because I am here at work on a Saturday for a full 8 hours. Oh, and I don't get a day off for another 3 days or so which means I have to go at least 8 days without any time off. Boo! It's that time of year for all the work apparently.

I've had this LynB Designs polish in my stash for months now. I'm not sure why it took me so long to swatch it, but here it is. The Queen's Roses comes from the Wonderland Collection for the Alice in Wonderland theme. It's a white base with red and silver hexagonal glitter and a small sprinkling of short, red bar glitter. Even those of you who hate bar glitter probably won't mind this small amount. I dunno, I love this one more in pictures than I do in real life. It's not as striking of a white in person, so perhaps I should have used some bright white undies with it. Haha! The formula was fine, but a bit sheer in 3 coats. Overall, this isn't my favorite LynB Design polish, but it's still fun.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Ok, spring can go ahead and stop the rain already. How many days in a row can it rain all day? It feels like it hasn't stopped all week!

Do you like the photos? I hope so, because they were taken with my new camera! I feel like my skintone is more accurate with it, and the macros are sharper. We'll see how this continues. Anyway, I found out about Killer Queen Varnish on Instagram when they had a 40% off sale to pare down on older stock. Of course I had to buy some to try them out at such a great price! Yes, O Fir Tree Dear is a holiday color, but I'll be wearing this beauty all year. It's a forest green jelly with loads of gold flakes. Oh the depth of this polish! As with any new brand, I am always weary of formula and application, and I'm happy to report that I had no issues here. Since it is a jelly, I used 3 coats, but it wasn't too thick at all. You can find them on their Etsy store, Facebook, and Instagram.

Hi guys! Tonight I have a new indie brand called Super Chic Lacquer through Wonder Beauty Products. I've been admiring these from afar, and finally pulled the trigger a couple weeks ago. These are still available through her Etsy page and retail for $10. And yes, these are the most unique bottles I own. A little big, but definitely different. Cause and Effect is a neon pastel orange/pink with a pearl shimmer finish. Since it has some neon tendencies, it did dry to a satin finish. I wanted shine so I used topcoat for the above photos. I found the formula to be a bit thin and streaky in the first 2 coats with the 3rd one finally evening things out. Make sure to learn more about Jen from Super Chic Lacquer through her Facebook and Twitter pages.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Hi guys! Yesterday was my birthday so my family went out to dinner and did some shopping. Overall it was a nice, relaxing day. I hope you had a happy weekend as well.

Tonight I have another polish from the Julep It Girl Maven box. They come up with so many different makeup items that I'm not interested in which is the reason why I only get the It Girl box...even if there are colors I'm more interested in in other boxes. I'm a happy camper because Becky is another stunning polish! It has a bit of a blackened base with a purple and teal/blue duochrome finish. The shimmer particles are a bit larger than usual which is why the duochrome really comes out in this one. Up until April I've been having some issues with Julep's formula. Most of the time it's extremely thick and doesn't really get better with thinner. Unfortunately, Becky has this issue as well. It's supposed to be what they call a "silk finish" or satin finish, but I didn't even notice this and added topcoat. No worries, I think topcoat is still a must for this one. Cheers!

Happy Saturday! I went to the Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh today for their Annual Raulston Blooms Festival and it was great fun. Oh, and the weather was just perfect. Tomorrow is my birthday so hopefully some fun will be had (despite it being on a Sunday).

Oops, I sort of don't remember what base I was using for the Rainbow Honey Magic Cake glitter topper. My bad! The main focus here is the glitter, though. Magic Cake has pink, yellow and blue glitter in hexagonal and square shapes. This is like a carnival in a bottle! Usually the Rainbow Honey glitters are extremely thick, but I was able to use 2 coats with no issues. This is currently out of stock on the Rainbow Honey website, but perhaps it will be available when they restock next month.

*This polish was an extra in a purchased set by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Friday, April 10, 2015

I know, I bet you're surprised that I have another Sally Hansen velvet texture polish. I think there's only one I don't have, and I think I'm just going to have to give up on it. Velour is a matte medium purple color with a slightly textured finish. While I like this fine, I think I like some of the other deeper colors from the collection a little better. I found that 2 coats were perfect to keep the texture without taking too long to dry. Are these still around? Last month I found an untouched display at Walgreens, but I'm not 100% sure if these are limited edition or not.

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Yay, my parents are coming tomorrow to celebrate my birthday this weekend! Oh, and it was supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday, but it just changed and will be full of sunshine and 75. Happy dance, happy dance!

As you guys know, I'm back on the Julep Maven box, and I received Margit in my January box. This is a really unique polish for my collection! It's a mushroom taupe color with rosey pink shimmer. The shimmer is sort of matte, so it sort of has this flecked look to it. I actually really love it. What don't I love? The formula. It was extremely thick and hard to work with...thankfully 2 coats was enough because I don't think I could have dealt with another. Is it worth the $14 Julep asks for their retail price? Oh, heck no, but I'm glad to have it in the monthly box.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Yup, I have yet another Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish to show called Get Mod which is a perfect name since it is a slightly off white creme. Very mod indeed! Oh, and this white looks terrible on my long gone talons. Just look how uneven they are! Unfortunately, like most white polishes, this had a pretty bad formula. I needed 3 coats to even things out, and it was pretty thick. It also seemed to take longer to dry, likely due to having 3 coats instead of 2. I think I'd hold off on this one if I were you.

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Happy Easter if you celebrate! The Easter Bunny found me and I am full of delicious candy. Tonight I have a light pink creme called Pink Cadillacquer (LOVE the name!) that would be perfect for that Easter dinner or a date night with your favorite outfit. I found the same formula and longevity of the polish as Friday's Red Eye. This isn't a really unique color, but it is still really nice. It dries about a half a shade darker than the bottle as well. Enjoy!

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Friday, April 3, 2015

Happy Friday! It was such a beautiful Good Friday, and I hope your Easter weekend is off to a good start. Oh man, look how creepy and long my nails were! Ugh, that just shows you how old these swatches are. Oops! Good thing the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes are still available. These are supposed to prolong your manicure for up to 14 days with no LED or UV light needed. Oh, and they can be removed like regular nail polish. So, how does this work? The main product you will need is the Miracle Gel Topcoat. You can use this with the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes (like I do here) or regular nail polish with the gel topcoat. Think of this as a drugstore version of the CND Vinylush polishes.

Tonight I have Red Eye which is a bright tomato red creme. Not very groundbreaking color-wise, but it's all about the formula and lasting results. So, how did it do? Unfortunately I don't have 2 weeks to fully test these, but my mom had great results with no significant chipping for around 5 or 6 days. I went 3 days with no issues, and my hands are sweaty in nitrile gloves all day every day. This product seems to be variable based on body chemistry, so this may not work as well for you. The polish and topcoat retail for around $10 each, but there is often a bundle pack of both for a discount. I think this is a little steep for drugstore products, but is well worth it if it works for you.

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Thursday, April 2, 2015

I have been absolutely terrible about posting lately. I do have a reason this time! I found out late yesterday that I had to go out and sample soils today. I had a ton of stuff to put together yesterday, so blogging sort of got pushed to the back burner. Sorry!

Whoa, Rainbow Honey had an interesting color in their January Mystery Bag ($12.95 including shipping for the mini bag) called Rosey Bot. I didn't find the color to be very rosey in color, but it's not quite as orange as it looks in my pictures. I find it to be more of a peach color with some pink undertones. And just look at that cool silver sheen! It really stands out, but can make a lot of skintones look a bit red. I have always been happy with the Rainbow Honey bags, and I think they are well worth the price. What do you think?

About Me

I'm just your everyday nail blogger/nib doctor working for Franklin-Christoph. Most of the time you'll find me trying to snuggle up to my cats or take a nap. Please feel free to contact me for any comments or questions! [E-Mail] .

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